understanding the self

• Self-awareness plays a crucial role in personal growth, self-improvement, and developing meaningful relationships.
• Ancient Philosophy (1000 BC to 500 AD) includes:

  • SOCRATES:
  • Known for "know thyself" and "An unexamined life is not worth living"
  • Believed in dualistic reality of BODY & SOUL
  • Taught through asking questions and the Socratic method, an argumentative dialogue based on asking questions
  • Emphasized that real understanding comes from within the person
  • Focused on the internal self and the health of the soul
  • PLATO:
  • Student of Socrates
  • Described the 3-part Soul/Self (Psyche) as Reason, Physical Appetite & Spirit/Passion
  • Laid foundations of Western philosophy and science
  • Introduced metaphysics of forms and believed in the goal of happiness from within
  • Established an "Academy" and wrote down all the teachings of Socrates
• Socrates believed that the true self is not the body but the soul
• Plato described the 3-part Soul/Self (Psyche) as Reason, Physical Appetite & Spirit/Passion
• Plato's goal was happiness, which he believed comes from within
• 3 PARTS OF THE SOUL/SELF (PSYCHE)

  • the soul is immortal
• Aristotle's view:

  • The mind (self) is a tabula rasa (blank tablet)
  • The self is composed of matter (body) and form (soul)
  • Knowledge is acquired through senses
  • The goal of the human self is reached in happiness through moderation and balance of things
  • There is no dichotomy between man’s body and man’s soul; they are in a state of unity
• Post-Aristotelian schools:

  • Stoic: characterized by being on top of emotions, rational, possessing cardinal virtues, and having apathy or indifference to pleasure
  • Hedonism: focused on pleasure and enjoyment
  • Epicureanism: aims for happiness through moderation and contentment
• Medieval philosophy:

  • Focuses on the integration of philosophy and religion
  • The period is theocentric (God-centered)
  • Philosophers like Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas aim to merge philosophy and religion
• Saint Augustine's beliefs:

  • Influenced by Plato
  • The self strives to achieve union with God through faith and reason
  • Love for God is the supreme virtue and leads to real happiness
• Saint Thomas Aquinas:

  • Theologian and philosopher
  • Believes that the things we love define who we are
  • Self-knowledge is dependent on our experiences in the world around us
  • Similar to Aristotle, knowledge is gained through experiences and senses
• Rene Descartes' view:

  • Rationalist who believes in dualism
  • The self is a combination of mind (cogito) and body (extenza)
  • The mind is the thinking part, while the body is the extension
  • Descartes emphasizes that the self is not the physical body, but the mind
• John Locke's perspective:

  • Empiricist who believes in personal identity found in consciousness
  • Conscious awareness and memory of previous experiences are key to understanding the self
  • Similar to Saint Thomas and Aristotle, Locke emphasizes that knowledge is derived from sense perception
• David Hume's view:

  • Empiricist and skeptic who believes in empiricism
  • Rejects the idea of a constant and invariable self
  • Emphasizes training reasoning over emotions to avoid being a slave to passion
• Immanuel Kant's perspective:

  • Rationalist and empiricist who believes the self is an active doer
  • Human mind creates all experiences, constructing the self
  • The self is not an object but a subject, organizing unified experiences
• Gilbert Ryle's view:

  • Defines the self as a pattern of behavior presented to the world
  • Behavior occurs in different scenarios, based on superficial observations
• Paul Churchland and Patricia Churchland's perspective:

  • Neurophilosophy linking brain and mind
  • The physical brain gives a sense of the self, with the brain responsible for the identity known as the self
• Contemporary philosophy:

  • Phenomenological approach focusing on subjective life experiences physically, emotionally, and cognitively
  • Philosophers like Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty emphasize understanding oneself for internal consistency
• Philosopher who believed that “We construct the SELF”:

  • Immanuel Kant
• Philosopher who concluded that there is no such thing as a CORE SELF but only a bundle of perception:

  • David Hume
• A method which allows questioning people’s beliefs that leads to touching the soul:

  • Socratic Method
• Self-awareness is important in order for us to know human awareness:

  • Rene Descartes
• Who among the following has a different perspective?

  • Rene Descartes
• “The things that we love tells us what we are” belongs to:

  • St. Thomas Aquinas
• The self in the Sociological Perspective:

  • The self is a relatively stable set of perceptions of who we are in relation to ourselves, others, and to social systems
  • Shaped through interaction with other people
  • Individuals are not passive participants and have a powerful influence over the process
  • Humans are dynamic
• The Looking Glass Self by Charles Horton Cooley:

  • A person’s self grows out of social interactions with others
  • Our view of ourselves comes from contemplation of personal qualities and impressions of how others perceive us
  • Perception gives meaning as we evaluate ourselves according to how we imagine others would judge us
• Johari Window by Joseph Luft & Harrington Ingham:

  • Technique to enhance individual's perception on self and others
  • Each quadrant portrays a different personality:
  • 1st Quadrant: Open/Arena - Genuine Relationship
  • 2nd Quadrant: Blindspot - Not known to the self, should be explored to avoid creating barriers
  • 3rd Quadrant: Hidden/Facade - Pretentious, wears a mask, makes a facade
  • 4th Quadrant: Unknown - Totally knows nothing about themselves, can become toxic
• Symbolic Interactionism by George Herbert Mead:

  • The self is created and developed through human interaction
  • "I and the Me" self should work together to produce the self; incongruency will occur if not in harmony
  • Two aspects of self-awareness:
  • ME = the socialized aspect of the person, the public self (mapagpanggap)
  • I = the active aspect of the person, the true you (values)
• Schadenfreude:

  • The satisfaction of someone else’s misery
• • Disruption vs Adequate:
  • Disruption leaves the child feeling empty, deficient, and frustrated
  • Adequate positive relations lead to good feelings about self in the early stages, teaching to stand on one’s feet and set healthy boundaries to focus on being the true authentic self
• According to Sigmund Freud, the self is like an iceberg full of unconsciousness, with iceberg layers representing levels of mental life
• Psychologists aim to bring all unconscious thoughts to the conscious level
• Structure of the Self (Provinces of the Mind):

  • Id: pleasure principle, pleasure-seeking part of the personality, belongs to the unconscious, represents the basic need of man
• The Id is determined by the genetic code, providing raw materials and setting boundary conditions for development
• The Id doesn't like pain; if not satisfied, it could result in stress and tension, but if satisfied, it could bring comfort and joy
• WILHEM WUNDT

  Father of Psychology
• SIGMUND FREUD

  Father of Psychoanalysis
• PSYCHOLOGY

  The self based on psychoanalytic approach
• Conscious refers to those thoughts and feelings that WE ARE AWARE OF
• Pre-conscious

  experiences that are unconscious but could become conscious with little effort.

  
  

  Ex: trying to retrieve an information but you’re not quite sure or exact